no background in IT

Hi!

I am weighing my options for getting my bachelors at WGU in IT Security. My question, coming straight to the point, is if, when you consider my background (below), I am biting off more than I can chew to go after an IT degree at WGU. I originally thought of going after the Marketing Management degree at WGU, but all the certifications offered with the IT degree attract me and I am really interested in learning all about internet and computing security issues.

I have no previous college degree. I have a strong career as a transportation planner and transportation program marketer/administrator at a large University. Ten years prior, I had 20 years in as a CAD drafter and cartographic draftsperson.

Now, with a degenerative disease, I find that I need to get a job that will not be so stressful for me as this administrator/marketer job. Plus, I need a degree so I will not be saying 'paper or plastic' if I have to go to work part-time and be on disability.

When I got ill, I got serious about getting back into technical work and went and got a certificate in Geographical Info Systems. I even got special permission to take graduate level courses at a major University in the area of GIS and I got A's. So I know I have an aptitude. I have a high tolerance for detailed work and my spouse thinks I would really like programming-related stuff once I got into it. But I am definitely not doing anything in IT, during the day and my job is very intense and stressful.

I went after GIS jobs after getting the certificate, but no one 'bit'. They just could not see me in that light, since I was not doing it during the day, despite my ten years in mapping in the past and the 9 years in civil CAD. I guess other, perhaps younger candidates were a better fit. I'm a fit-looking 56 yo female.

Failure is not an option, so I am knocking on this door now. My spouse just got laid off, so this is not a financial decision we are taking lightly. Thoughts?

Gratefully,

oak1day

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Comments

ptilsen

Honestly, IT is a pretty big jump from almost any other field. It's not a low-stress career, and age discrimination is rampant. I'm not saying these are barriers that cannot be overcome, but they're worth considering before you made such a big decision.

Now to the good news: Not all IT jobs are high-stress, and IT can be a quick and easy way to make a decent amount of money. With certifications alone you can usually get an entry-level job. A degree plus certifications plus decades of unrelated experience might get you into a manager-oriented job.

Just to clarify, the type of degree you'll get from WGU is not related to programming, and will barely touch on anything programmers do. When we say "IT" here, we are generally referring to IT "infrastructure" or systems/networking. People in the technical security field often work within multiple disciplines of IT and usually do know about programming, but getting into technical security is not a short journey for someone new to IT. Also, WGU and the certifications you'd get while pursuing a degree are highly technical. You're not learning "about" IT as much as you're learning how to work with networked computer systems at a professional level.

From what you're saying, you might be thinking more about a computer science degree. Being a programmer or something in that vein is just as technical as being in security, systems, or networking, but also very different in many ways. It's probably a lot closer to what you were doing with GIS, and there is probably less age discrimination.

As I think more about this, I'm just not sure that getting into IT just to get away from stress probably does not make sense. Even learning enough to get an entry-level job could be stressful, finding and getting that entry-level job would be stressful, and the job itself could be stressful. I don't want to dissuade anyone with an aptitude and an interest from getting into IT, but it's not a move to be taken lightly.

VAHokie56

ptilsen wrote: »

Honestly, IT is a pretty big jump from almost any other field. It's not a low-stress career, and age discrimination is rampant. I'm not saying these are barriers that cannot be overcome, but they're worth considering before you made such a big decision.

Now to the good news: Not all IT jobs are high-stress, and IT can be a quick and easy way to make a decent amount of money. With certifications alone you can usually get an entry-level job. A degree plus certifications plus decades of unrelated experience might get you into a manager-oriented job.

Just to clarify, the type of degree you'll get from WGU is not related to programming, and will barely touch on anything programmers do. When we say "IT" here, we are generally referring to IT "infrastructure" or systems/networking. People in the technical security field often work within multiple disciplines of IT and usually do know about programming, but getting into technical security is not a short journey for someone new to IT. Also, WGU and the certifications you'd get while pursuing a degree are highly technical. You're not learning "about" IT as much as you're learning how to work with networked computer systems at a professional level.

From what you're saying, you might be thinking more about a computer science degree. Being a programmer or something in that vein is just as technical as being in security, systems, or networking, but also very different in many ways. It's probably a lot closer to what you were doing with GIS, and there is probably less age discrimination.

As I think more about this, I'm just not sure that getting into IT just to get away from stress probably does not make sense. Even learning enough to get an entry-level job could be stressful, finding and getting that entry-level job would be stressful, and the job itself could be stressful. I don't want to dissuade anyone with an aptitude and an interest from getting into IT, but it's not a move to be taken lightly.

I agree. From my experience IT has not been low stress, I have only worked in Help desk, desk side and as Network engineer and all of them have there moments. Most entry level jobs will be customer facing and you will have to have keen people skills to be able to defuse a exploding bomb like some nurse who deleted her .pst file and wants you head on a platter. As you work your way threw and specialize you will not have to directly deal with end users but rather PM's and directors...so it doesn't get easier. So after all that I will say as with anything that is hard the pay off is awesome, I love this field and its very rewarding. I would recommend IT to anyone with an analytical mind and who also has a willingness to learn on there own everyday, if thats for you then jump in dude